George Doherty
Encyclopedia
George E. Doherty was a National Football League
player from 1944–1947, who thereafter was the defensive coach
of the Louisiana Tech University
Bulldogs in Ruston
and the head coach of the Northwestern State University
Demons in Natchitoches
from 1972-1974.
, the seat of Madison County
in central Mississippi
, where he successfully played football in high school
. He then attended Mississippi State University
(then College) in Starkville
for a year. He subsequently transferred to Louisiana Tech, where he played as a right tackle with the Bulldogs for three seasons in the Louisiana Intercollegiate Conference. In 1945, he procured his bachelor of science
degree in mechanical engineering
from Tech. He also obtained a master's degree
from George Peabody College
in Nashville, Tennessee
, which qualified him to teach mathematics
at the secondary school level.
in 1945, the former Buffalo Bisons
and the former New York Yankees
in 1946, and finally with the Buffalo Bills
in Buffalo, New York
, in 1947.
While he was in California
playing the former Los Angeles Rams (1946–1995), Doherty claimed to have kissed the actress Carole Landis
, sat beside Joan Caulfield
on a bench, visited in the home of the crooner
Bing Crosby
, and been feted at the Brown Derby
restaurant
by the celebrity Don Ameche
.
in Stamps
in Lafayette County in southwestern Arkansas
. There he turned around a winless year into two district championships and one second-place statewide.
In 1950, he came to Minden
, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana
, where he taught physical education
and mathematics, including geometry
, and coached the Minden High School
Crimson Tide through 1957, mostly during the principalship of his close friend Wayne Wynn Williams, Sr. (1917–2000). When Doherty arrived, MHS had won only one football games in the past three seasons. Doherty turned things around to the extent that the Crimson Tide won the 1952 district championship with a 9-2 record. "We went from the bottom of the list to the top of the list in a short time," Williams, who served as the parish superintendent from 1973–1978, recalled.
In 1953, the Crimson Tide again won the district championship with a 9-2 record. The final game, played on Thanksgiving Day afternoon against the in-parish rival, the Springhill
Lumberjacks, was particularly gratifying to Doherty because the Springhill team then included future Heisman Trophy
winner, John David Crow
.
Minden under Doherty also defeated arch-rival Haynesville
(northern Claiborne Parish) for the first time in a quarter century. In 1954, with a 13-1 record, the team won the state championship. That was followed by another district championship in 1955 and a second state championship, again with a 13-1 record, in 1956. One of Doherty's players in 1956 was Billy Joe Booth
, who later starred for Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge and then played for nine years with the Ottawa Rough Riders
of the Canadian Football League
. Shreveport
sports writers began referring to Minden as the "Home of the Champions".
After the first state championship in 1954, Doherty accepted the head coach position at 3-A Bolton High School
in Alexandria
, the seat of Rapides Parish, but he stayed just one day and promptly returned to the 2-A Minden High School. Williams said that Doherty had the penchant for making an average player into a great player: "It seemed every year, he was getting five to nine players a scholarship
to Tech. Sometimes they even referred to Louisiana Tech as 'Minden Tech'."
While the defensive coach at Tech under Joe Aillet
, Doherty had a heart attack, was sidelined, and temporarily replaced by Jimmy Johnson
, later the coach of the University of Miami Hurricanes
and the Miami Dolphins
.
Doherty was also a fisherman
, who spent hours on Black Lake
in Natchitoches Parish. W. W. Williams recalled that the two often fished but never on Sunday.
Doherty's wife, Mary Jeanne Doherty (born ca. 1924) taught English
at Minden High School and Louisiana Tech. The couple had a son, George Michael "Mike" Doherty (born March 22, 1952) of Lafayette
. Doherty lived in Natchitoches during his retirement years. He died of a heart attack on New Year's Eve
1987. He is honored through the naming of the George Doherty Wing, which houses the NSU football offices in Natchitoches, as well as the George Doherty Football Scholarship.
Some two hundred persons, including former and current coaches and former players under Doherty, attended services in the Immaculate Conception Catholic
Church in Natchitoches.
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
player from 1944–1947, who thereafter was the defensive coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
of the Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
Bulldogs in Ruston
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
and the head coach of the Northwestern State University
Northwestern State University
Northwestern State University, known as NSU, is a four-year public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the University of Louisiana System.NSU was founded in 1884 as...
Demons in Natchitoches
Natchitoches, Louisiana
Natchitoches is a city in and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was named after the Natchitoches Indian tribe. The City of Natchitoches was first incorporated on February...
from 1972-1974.
Early years and education
Doherty was born in CantonCanton, Mississippi
Canton is a city in Madison County, Mississippi. The population was 12,911 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Madison County, and situated in the northern part of the metropolitan area surrounding the state capital, Jackson....
, the seat of Madison County
Madison County, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 74,674 people, 27,219 households, and 19,325 families residing in the county. The population density was 104 people per square mile . There were 28,781 housing units at an average density of 40 per square mile...
in central Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, where he successfully played football in high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. He then attended Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University
The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...
(then College) in Starkville
Starkville, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 21,869 people, 9,462 households, and 4,721 families residing in the city. The population density was 851.4 people per square mile . There were 10,191 housing units at an average density of 396.7 per square mile...
for a year. He subsequently transferred to Louisiana Tech, where he played as a right tackle with the Bulldogs for three seasons in the Louisiana Intercollegiate Conference. In 1945, he procured his bachelor of science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
from Tech. He also obtained a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
from George Peabody College
Peabody College
Peabody College of Education and Human Development was founded in 1875 when the University of Nashville, located in Nashville, Tennessee, split into two separate educational institutions...
in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, which qualified him to teach mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
at the secondary school level.
National Football League
Doherty played professionally, first, with the former Brooklyn Tigers in 1944, when he was declared "Rookie of the Year". He was twice named to the NFL "All Pro" team. He continued with the former Boston YanksBoston Yanks
The Boston Yanks were a National Football League team based in Boston, Massachusetts that played from 1944 to 1948. The team played its home games at Fenway Park. Games that conflicted with the Boston Red Sox schedule were held at the Manning Bowl in Lynn, Massachusetts...
in 1945, the former Buffalo Bisons
Buffalo Bisons
The Buffalo Bisons are a minor league baseball team based in Buffalo, New York. They currently play in the International League and are the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets...
and the former New York Yankees
New York Yankees (football)
New York Yankees is a baseball team.New York Yankees may also refer to:*New York Yankees , a team that played in the 1926 American Football League before competing in the NFL from 1927-28...
in 1946, and finally with the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, in 1947.
While he was in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
playing the former Los Angeles Rams (1946–1995), Doherty claimed to have kissed the actress Carole Landis
Carole Landis
Carole Landis was an American film and stage actress whose break-through role was as the female lead in the 1940 film One Million B.C.. Landis has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 1765 Vine Street....
, sat beside Joan Caulfield
Joan Caulfield
Joan Caulfield was an American actress and former fashion model. After being discovered by Broadway producers, she began a stage career in 1943 that eventually led to signing as an actress with Paramount Pictures....
on a bench, visited in the home of the crooner
Crooner
Crooner is an American epithet given to male singers of pop standards, mostly from the Great American Songbook, either backed by a full orchestra, a big band or by a piano. Originally it was an ironic term denoting an emphatically sentimental, often emotional singing style made possible by the use...
Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, and been feted at the Brown Derby
Brown Derby
The Brown Derby was the name of a chain of restaurants in Los Angeles, California. The first and most famous of these was shaped like a men's derby hat, an iconic image that became synonymous with the Golden Age of Hollywood....
restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
by the celebrity Don Ameche
Don Ameche
Don Ameche was an Academy Award winning American actor with a career spanning almost sixty years.-Personal life:...
.
High school coaching
After he left professional football, Doherty began coaching in 1948 at Stamps High SchoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Stamps
Stamps, Arkansas
Stamps is a city in Lafayette County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,131 at the 2000 census.Stamps was the shop headquarters for the former Louisiana and Arkansas Railway until the relocation in the early 1920s to Minden, Louisiana....
in Lafayette County in southwestern Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. There he turned around a winless year into two district championships and one second-place statewide.
In 1950, he came to Minden
Minden, Louisiana
Minden is a city in the American state of Louisiana. It serves as the parish seat of Webster Parish and is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The population, which has been stable since 1960, was 13,027 at the 2000 census...
, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, where he taught physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
and mathematics, including geometry
Geometry
Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
, and coached the Minden High School
Minden High School (Minden, Louisiana)
Minden High School is the public secondary educational institution in Minden, a small city of 13,000 and the seat of Webster Parish located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport in northwestern Louisiana...
Crimson Tide through 1957, mostly during the principalship of his close friend Wayne Wynn Williams, Sr. (1917–2000). When Doherty arrived, MHS had won only one football games in the past three seasons. Doherty turned things around to the extent that the Crimson Tide won the 1952 district championship with a 9-2 record. "We went from the bottom of the list to the top of the list in a short time," Williams, who served as the parish superintendent from 1973–1978, recalled.
In 1953, the Crimson Tide again won the district championship with a 9-2 record. The final game, played on Thanksgiving Day afternoon against the in-parish rival, the Springhill
Springhill, Louisiana
Springhill is a city in northern Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,439 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
Lumberjacks, was particularly gratifying to Doherty because the Springhill team then included future Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winner, John David Crow
John David Crow
John David Crow was the Heisman Trophy winner and halfback from Texas A&M University in 1957...
.
Minden under Doherty also defeated arch-rival Haynesville
Haynesville, Louisiana
Haynesville is a town in northern Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, United States, located just south of the Arkansas border. The population was 2,679 at the 2000 census....
(northern Claiborne Parish) for the first time in a quarter century. In 1954, with a 13-1 record, the team won the state championship. That was followed by another district championship in 1955 and a second state championship, again with a 13-1 record, in 1956. One of Doherty's players in 1956 was Billy Joe Booth
Billy Joe Booth
Billy Joe Booth played professionally with the Ottawa Rough Riders in the Canadian Football League from 1962-1970. He also played for his alma maters, Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and Minden High School in Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana, where he was born...
, who later starred for Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge and then played for nine years with the Ottawa Rough Riders
Ottawa Rough Riders
The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. One of the oldest and longest lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine times. Their most dominant era was the 1960s and 1970s, a...
of the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
. Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
sports writers began referring to Minden as the "Home of the Champions".
After the first state championship in 1954, Doherty accepted the head coach position at 3-A Bolton High School
Bolton High School
Bolton High School is the name of several schools:*Bolton High School in Bolton, Connecticut*Bolton High School in Alexandria, Louisiana*Bolton High School in Arlington, Tennessee...
in Alexandria
Alexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
, the seat of Rapides Parish, but he stayed just one day and promptly returned to the 2-A Minden High School. Williams said that Doherty had the penchant for making an average player into a great player: "It seemed every year, he was getting five to nine players a scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to Tech. Sometimes they even referred to Louisiana Tech as 'Minden Tech'."
Louisiana Tech coach
Doherty left MHS in 1957 to become the defensive coordinator at Louisiana Tech, a position that he held until 1966. While at Tech, his teams set six school records and won or held five Gulf States Conference championships. Williams' son, Wayne Williams, Jr., like his father a Webster Parish school superintendent, played under Doherty at Tech as did Ronnie Brown, also of Minden who became an educator and principal at Sarepta High School. Williams, Jr., described his former coach as "a very intense man on the football field and off the field one of the nicest and calmest persons you could meet."While the defensive coach at Tech under Joe Aillet
Joe Aillet
Joe Aillet was the head football coach at Louisiana Tech University from 1940 to 1966. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989. During his 26-year tenure, he amassed a career record of 151 wins, 86 losses, and 8 ties. Additionally, under Aillet, the Bulldogs won nine...
, Doherty had a heart attack, was sidelined, and temporarily replaced by Jimmy Johnson
Jimmy Johnson (American football coach)
James William "Jimmy" Johnson is an American former NCAA and National Football League head coach. As of 2010, he is currently an analyst for Fox NFL Sunday, the Fox network's NFL pregame show. He was the first football coach whose teams won both an NCAA Division 1A National Championship and a...
, later the coach of the University of Miami Hurricanes
Miami Hurricanes
The Miami Hurricanes, of Coral Gables, Florida, are the varsity sports teams of the University of Miami. They compete in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference . The university fields 15 athletic teams for 17 varsity sports...
and the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Later years in Natchitoches
In 1967, Doherty accepted the same defensive coordinator position at Tech's football rival, Northwestern State. In 1972, Doherty was promoted to head coach and led the NSU to an 8-2 record and the Gulf South Conference championship. He retired in 1974, with a 15-17 record at Northwestern.Doherty was also a fisherman
Fisherman
A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...
, who spent hours on Black Lake
Black Lake
-Lakes:In Canada:*Black Lake *In Ontario:**Black Lake in Haliburton**Black Lake in the Greater Sudbury District**Black Lake *Black Lake, Quebec...
in Natchitoches Parish. W. W. Williams recalled that the two often fished but never on Sunday.
Doherty's wife, Mary Jeanne Doherty (born ca. 1924) taught English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
at Minden High School and Louisiana Tech. The couple had a son, George Michael "Mike" Doherty (born March 22, 1952) of Lafayette
Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...
. Doherty lived in Natchitoches during his retirement years. He died of a heart attack on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
1987. He is honored through the naming of the George Doherty Wing, which houses the NSU football offices in Natchitoches, as well as the George Doherty Football Scholarship.
Some two hundred persons, including former and current coaches and former players under Doherty, attended services in the Immaculate Conception Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Church in Natchitoches.